WE HAVE DIFFICULTY SERVICING DEBTS – FEDERAL GOVT –PUNCH.


BARELY 24 HOURS AFTER THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ADVISED NIGERIA TO INCREASE TAX TO RAISE MORE REVENUE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON THURSDAY SAID ITS LOW REVENUE WAS AFFECTING ITS ABILITY  TO SERVICE DEBTS AND FUND DAY-TO-DAY RECURRENT EXPENDITURE.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, BUDGET AND NATIONAL PLANNING, MRS ZAINAB AHMED,  DURING AN INTERVIEW WITH JOURNALISTS ON THE SIDELINES OF THE WORLD BANK/INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MEETINGS  IN WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES, NOTED THAT ALTHOUGH NIGERIA DID NOT HAVE A DEBT PROBLEM, SHE SAID, “UNDERPERFORMANCE OF OUR REVENUE IS CAUSING A SIGNIFICANT STRAIN IN OUR ABILITY TO SERVICE DEBT.”
SHE ALSO JUSTIFIED THE $3BN LOAN THE COUNTRY WAS SEEKING FROM THE WORLD BANK, SAYING THE MONEY WOULD BE USED TO FINANCE THE POWER SECTOR.
A QUARTER (N2.5TRN)OF N10.3TRN BUDGET PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI PRESENTED TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON OCTOBER 8 WOULD BE SPENT ON DEBT SERVICING.
WHILE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT VOTED N4.88TRN FOR  NON-DEBT RECURRENT EXPENDITURE, ONLY N2.14TRN WAS ALLOCATED TO CAPITAL PROJECTS IN SPITE OF THE HUGE INFRASTRUCTURAL DEFICIT IN THE COUNTRY.
WHY WE ARE BORROWING FRESH $3BN FROM WORLD BANK – AHMED
THE FINANCE MINISTER, AHMED, HOWEVER, SAID THE FRESH $3BN LOAN NIGERIA WAS SEEKING FROM THE WORLD BANK WOULD BE SPENT ON REFORMS IN THE POWER SECTOR.
THE DEBT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HAD SAID THAT THE NATION’S TOTAL PUBLIC DEBT ROSE BY N3.32TN IN ONE YEAR TO N25.7TN AS OF THE END OF JUNE 2019.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OWED N20.42TN AS OF JUNE 30, 2019 WHILE THE 36 STATES AND THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY HAD A TOTAL DEBT PORTFOLIO OF N5.28TN.
IN 2017, THE REVENUE TARGET WAS N5.08TN OUT OF WHICH N2.7TN WAS REALISED. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S REVENUE PROJECTION  FOR 2018 WAS N7.16TN OUT OF WHICH ONLY N3.96TN WAS ACHIEVED. IN 2019, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S PROJECTED REVENUE WAS PUT AT N6.98TN. AS OF JUNE THIS YEAR, ABOUT N2.04TN HAD BEEN REALISED.


READ FULL STORY IN PUNCH NEWSPAPER.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric Ministry Introduces New Measures for Fertiliser Allocation

Bauchi State Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, has described as successful the 2013/14 E-Wallet System of fertiliser allocation and distribution in the country. To this end, he said, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is soon to introduce the National Agricultural Payment Initiative (NAPI) as a boost to the e-wallet system geared to biometrically capture the data of all farmers under the scheme. He attributed the non-implementation of the e-wallet fertiliser allocation this year to change of administration at the central level, and the non-payment of outstanding payment to agro dealers who supply the fertiliser. The director who spoke in an interview with journalists yesterday in Bauchi, said however that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is doing everything possible to offset the outstanding arrears to the fertiliser suppliers towards making headway in the programme. “There is also this new programme that is coming up, the National Ag
Read more

10 World Most Eloquent People

Image
Only the eloquent can adequately describe eloquence. It includes articulation, a mellifluous tone of voice and poise under pressure. To be eloquent is to speak well in a persuasive and deeply thoughtful way. Though it appears to come easily, eloquence does not often come naturally. The most talented speakers often have training in rhetoric and behavioral psychology. Here are 10 great examples of eloquent speakers who have made their mark on the world. 1. Martin Luther King, Jr “I Have a Dream” is perhaps the most powerful speech in American history. In poetic, unequivocal language, he explains how people can live up to their ideals for the sake of their children. 2. Abraham Lincoln In a speech only two minutes long, Lincoln explained the moral justification for the Civil War in his Gettysburg Address. 3. Winston Churchill In a few short years Churchill transformed himself from a burly, unemployed, failed novelist to a leader of the free world with
Read more

Ipebi, the Yoruba tradition shrouded in secrecy

Culture has a way of identifying a people, race or clan. From the North down to the East and South, cultural differences confer a form of identity not in terms of social status but most importantly in terms of origin and ethnicity. Even among the progressive elements, they pride themselves with different beliefs just as they do everything possible to preserve their culture. Its dynamism however offers a sense of pride not only as a distinct tribe on the one side but also as Africans on the other. Traditional rulers are the custodians of African culture and tradition and if you are to be enthroned as an Oba in Yoruba land, you will have to undergo a three-month seclusion in the native shrine. In Yoruba kingship, the royal seclusion otherwise know as Ipebi in Yoruba parlance is the focus in this edition. Right from the day a man is selected as a King, either by the oracle or by the unanimous decision of the Council of chiefs and kingmakers, he assumes total dignity befitting royal
Read more